On 20 October 2021, Senator Urquhart, at the request of Senator Pratt and pursuant to notice of motion not objected to as a formal motion, moved business of the Senate notice of motion no. 3—That the following matter be referred to the Economics References Committee for inquiry and report by 1 December 2021: 

Sterling Income Trust, with particular reference to:

1. the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s oversight of the Sterling Income Trust;
2. the need for legislative and regulatory reform to prevent such losses in the future;
3. access to justice and redress for victims of the Sterling Income Trust Collapse;
4. the novelty of the products of the Sterling Income Trust;
5. why the scheme collapsed and where the money went; and
6. any related matters.

On 29 November 2021, the Senate granted the committee an extension of time to report until 1 February 2022.

On 1 February 2022, the reporting date was further extended to the 4 February 2022. 

Submissions

The committee welcomes submissions to this inquiry.

However, it is important to note that the committee is not obliged to accept every document it receives as a submission. The committee has the option to accept a document as correspondence, or not accept it at all depending on its content. 

Odgers Senate Practice clearly indicates:

"…a submission made to a committee becomes a committee document, and it is for the committee to decide whether to receive it as evidence and whether to publish it."

Further information can be found in our procedural documents.

Drafting a submission

To assist your document being received and accepted as a submission to the inquiry, it is recommended that your document relates to those topics explicitly mentioned in the terms of reference.

Documents that don't address topics in the terms of reference and diverge onto extraneous issues are unlikely to be accepted as submissions. Further guidance on making a submission can be on the Senate’s How to make a submission webpage.

Form letters or documents containing repetitive themes

Form letters that are received as part of letter writing campaigns are likely to be received in the following way: a sample of the document may be accepted as a submission and published with a written indication of how many such documents were received.

Similarly, documents received that are not strictly form letters but demonstrate repetitive themes are also highly likely to be acknowledged in the same way: a certain number taken as samples with a written indication of how many such documents were received.

Treatment of correspondence

If your document is received as correspondence, the committee will consider its content and it will inform the committee's consideration of the bill. However, it will not be individually referenced in the final report of the inquiry.

The committee hopes this information will assist you in the drafting of your submission.